The Spine of Medieval History

I think I'd like to do a really big book or podcast or something on the Medieval History of Europe. I keep dancing around the topic without knowing where to wade into the waters. I'm going to finish The History of Western Philosophy and the other Jones philosophy book. That will give me some of the framework for the intellectual structure on which the Middle Ages was built, but my primary focus to start I think will be the papacy. I figure that's the spine of Europe in the Middle Ages and everything gets back to Rome anyway. I think there's a figure of speech about Rome and roads that might be fitting here, but I'll leave the cliches for the final product.