Why were 45 articles associated with John Wycliffe condemned at the University of Prague?

In 1403, a German master at the University of Prague, Johann Hübner, compiled a list of 45 articles selected from the writings of the English reformer John Wycliffe and had them condemned as heretical.1

The condemnation occurred during a period of intense rivalry at the university between German masters, who generally opposed church reform, and nationalistic Czech masters, who were enthusiastic readers of Wycliffe’s works. Because the university’s voting system granted the German masters three votes to the Czechs' one, the German faction was able to easily outvote the Czechs to ensure the articles were condemned.213

Following this action, the 45 articles were established as a formal test of orthodoxy at the university. The primary objection to Wycliffe’s teachings centered on his doctrine of remanence—the belief that bread and wine in the Eucharist retain their material substance—as well as his assertion that the Scriptures should be the sole source of Christian doctrine.1