I agree with much of what you said. It's slightly off topic, but your statement Power and flowed around many aristocrats and one Catholic church makes me think

I agree with much of what you said. It's slightly off topic, but your statement Power and flowed around many aristocrats and one Catholic church makes me think of Neal Stephenson's book Anathem [1]. A core theme of Anathem is a society in which science and technology are pursued in monasteries that keep themselves aloof from "secular" society. Government power and religion then interact with a much different dynamic. So the role that the church played historically in mitigating the power of monarchs is, in this world, played by the scientists. I don't think that Stephenson develops the idea far enough to start drawing any conclusions, but he does inspire enough thought that it's quite an interesting read. [1] https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Anathem https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Anathem