Heresy
Bohemia Simmers
So, all these elements came together that fall and winter. The nobles had their programme of local control and favoring Czechs over Germans. The intellectuals likewise had their pro-Czech position, centering on use of the Czech language, as well as resistance to foreign influences. Reformers and nobles alike came together to create a league to proect the Czech people and the Czech church. In response, Catholic nobles formed their own league.
From 1415 to 1419, the Hussite movement grew rapidly. The dissidents were protected not so much because they were favored as because the authorities chose to ignore them. During those years, opposition grew steadily, but rarely did it result in overt action. For example, Hussites were driven out of areas of Bohemia that were strongly German Catholic.
When Wenceslaus died in 1419, though, his brother Sigismund took over and the situation changed dramatically. Sigismund was committed to destroying the Hussites, and as Holy Roman Emperor he had the resources to tak effective action. For a variety of reasons, the Czechs refused to recognize Sigismund as their king. They had not forgotten his betrayal of Hus, and they regarded him as an enemy of the Czech people.