southern Slavic countries. The Bavarian nation comprised the students from the Bavarian principalities as well as those from Austria, Suabia, Franconia, and the Rhinelands. The students from Saxony, Meissen, and Thuringia, with those from Sweden and Denmark, formed the Saxon nation. The Polish nation was composed of Poles, Russians, Lithuanians, and Silesians. Since the foundation of the University of Cracow in 1364, the majority of the members of this nation was German. The division into nations—contrary to the practice of Paris—at Prague extended to the masters also. This, according to the views of a recent learned writer,[1] largely contributed to envenom the national dissensions at the university.
The new university—the first one founded in central Europe—immediately attracted large crowds of students from all parts of Europe. The contemporary chronicler, Benes of Weitmil, writes: “The university became so great that nothing equal to it existed in Germany, and students came there from all parts of the world—from England, France Lombardy, and Poland, and all the surrounding countries, sons of nobles and princes, and prelates of the church from all parts of the world.” The students were not all, as at the present day, men in early youth. The “faculty” of the jurists in particular, which for a time formed a separate body, contained many men of maturer age. Many wealthy men, often accompanied by numerous servants, also came to Prague, more for the purpose of enjoying the pleasures of the capital than for the purpose of study. This vast crowd of students added greatly to the population of Prague, and contributed greatly to enrich the citizens. The latter were not, however, always pleased with this great immigration. Among the students were many turbulent and riotous men Street brawls and even fights were frequent. Prague had somewhat the appearance of Paris at the time of Villon. The
- ↑ Deuifle, quoted by Winter, Deje vysokych skol Prazskych.
