At a meeting with the pope and others in March 1223, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II agreed to marry Queen Isabella of Jerusalem and to go on a crusade.
With no PoDs prior to this meeting, how could the Emperor have the most successful reign possible? To an extent, this is building off of...
Edessa is a lot more vulnerable than Antioch, that’s for sure; would you say the former is more likely to come under attack first than the latter? If so, then I’d say it likely falls, and Bohemond quickly trie to make up with the Byzantines to get their protection; if he gets it, I imagine...
Would it consolidate though, from the inside that is? Or do you mean they’d be like Ireland and Wales, a politically divided region only really united once conquered by an outside power (England itself OTL for the former, maybe Denmark TTL for “England”)?
So TTL’s version of Louis V may well be more impressive than OTL, based on having an education more akin to what Otto III got OTL; for example, if Gerbert of Aurillac still exists TTL and visits Italy, he’d more likely to be brought in as a tutor for Adelaide’s first family (children with...
I was surprised to find this question is something that got less discussion in recent years than I expected, despite that, when it is brought up, consensus seems to be that it has a lot of fascinating AH potential, both in plausibility and potential to change history. There are multiple PoDs...
So I just realized -- if Emma of Italy marries Lothair of France as she did OTL, that would unify the thrones of Italy and West Francia. Is their son as likely to be "the Do-Nothing King" in TTL, or could we see a restored Holy Roman Empire based in France instead of Germany?
Yeah, I forgot...
Actually, going back to the 1066 PoDs for a sec -- I am checking out a TL on the subject now, and it actually makes a fair case that the Normans would actually bring doing less well in the Mediterranean TTL, and that this would have some implications on how the Papal Reformers’ efforts play out:
@Nuraghe Alright, so clearly 1066 is too late for a PoD that could substantively help here; maybe if we start earlier?
What if Henry III lives another decade, avoiding a regency for his heir? If nothing else, this makes the Saxon Revolt a lot less likely, and the lack of a minority period for...
Was the Canossa really such a power player in its own right? I mean, I know it's where Adelaide fortified herself when she invited the Ottonians to Italy, and it's where the Pope fortified himself when quarreling with the Emperor -- well actually, I guess that answers my own question there.
Of...
Excellent analysis @Arkenfolm ! I'll admit, part of me suspected that the best way to help out the crusader states with a PoD this late would be, in effect, to make the Mongols in the West as powerful as possible, but I was hesitant to see it that way; seems my hesitation was unwarranted. (Going...
Looking back at this, I'd still say it's my preferred means of keeping the Carolingian Empire united; Louis the Pious OTL was just such a high point for the Empire in terms of central authority and administration* until the rise of the Ottonians, that if we were to think of a scenario where...