Heresy
Reform of Charles University
In 1408, Wenceslaus wanted to send a representative to the Council of Pisa. He was still trying to find a way to get reinstated as Holy Roman Emperor and hoped the Council might favor him. But Charles University (in Prague) was controlled by a German archbishop, who refused to send anyone. At the urging of the Czech professors, in January 1409 the king gave control of the university to the masters and students.
This is known as the Decree of Kutná Hora, issued 18 January 1409. On the model of other universities, Charles University was divided into four "nations" that voted on university business. The Decree gave the Bohemian nation three votes and combined all the other nations into a single vote. This effectively gave the university to the Czechs.
In the wake of the decree, hundreds of German and other students and masters left, making Charles University one of the first truly national universities in Europe. Because many of the Czechs were advocates of Church reform, the university also became a center for the reform movement in Bohemia. At the same time, those who abandoned Prague went to other universities, where they helped fuel anti-Hussite sentiment in ensuing years.
The transformation of the university is not the sole cause for the Hussite revolt, but it symbolizes the key elements: a desire for Church reform with strong ties to Wyclif, coupled with a strong and even militant Czech nationalism that was concentrated on use of the Czech language. Other reform movements in Europe had been vibrant and even radical, but none had combined with a strong national sense (the Cathars come closest). This is what gives the Hussites a significance beyond the events they precipitated.