George Constantine was a British priest who was an early Protestant

Protestantism

Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

 and evangelical reformer.

Life History

Constantine was, by his own account, born around 1500, and in 1523 gained entry into Cambridge University to study for a Bachelor of Canon Law. He adopted the Protestant doctrine, and fled to Antwerp where he met and assisted both William Tyndale

William Tyndale

William Tyndale was an English scholar and translator who became a leading figure in Protestant reformism towards the end of his life. He was influenced by the work of Desiderius Erasmus, who made the Greek New Testament available in Europe, and by Martin Luther...

 and George Joye

George Joye

George Joye was a 16th-century Bible translator who produced the first printed translation of several books of the Old Testament into English , as well as the first English Primer .-Education:...

. Here he helped to translate the New Testament

New Testament

The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

 into English, and compiled books denouncing the Catholic Church. Constantine later moved to Paris, where he studied Lutheran

Lutheranism

Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...

 scriptures and began to smuggle banned literature into England. He was arrested in 1531 by Sir Thomas More

Thomas More

Sir Thomas More , also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and, for three years toward the end of his life, Lord Chancellor...

; after revealing the names of some of his Protestant colleagues he escaped in December of the same year, returning to Antwerp. Constantine returned to England in 1536, following More's death, and entered the service of Sir Henry Norris.

After Norris's death, Constantine was made the vicar of Llawhaden

Llawhaden

Llawhaden is a village and parish in the Hundred of Dungleddy , Pembrokeshire, West Wales.Llawhaden was a civil parish, area 1865 Ha....

 in Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....

, but some unguarded remarks to John Barlow in 1539 led to his imprisonment by Thomas Cromwell

Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex

Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, , was an English statesman who served as chief minister of King Henry VIII of England from 1532 to 1540....

 in the Tower of London

Tower of London

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...

. By 1546, Constantine had been released from imprisonment, and had regained favour with the church. He became the registrar of St David's

St David's

St Davids , is a city and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Lying on the River Alun on St David's Peninsula, it is Britain's smallest city in terms of both size and population, the final resting place of Saint David, the country's patron saint, and the de facto ecclesiastical capital of...

 in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, then gained the position of royal visitor of the diocese in 1547, ascending to Archdeacon of Carmarthenshire and Prebendary

Prebendary

A prebendary is a post connected to an Anglican or Catholic cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. Prebendaries have a role in the administration of the cathedral...

 of Llangamarch

Llangammarch Wells

Llangammarch Wells is a village in the parish of Llangammarch in Powys, within the historic boundaries of Brecknockshire, mid Wales, lying on the River Irfon....

 in 1549. Although Constantine was stripped of his registrarship and livings during Mary's

Mary I of England

Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...

 reign, he was back in favour by 1559 when he was appointed one of the visitors for the Western circuit of diocese. At last, in November 1559, he was made archdeacon of Brecon by Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

.

Constantine married; his only surviving child became the first wife of Thomas Younge

Thomas Young (archbishop)

Thomas Young was a Bishop of St David's and Archbishop of York .-Life:He was the son of John Young and Eleanor his wife, and was born at Hodgeston, Pembrokeshire, in 1507. He became a student at Broadgates Hall, Oxford, and graduated B. A. 14 June 1529, M. A. 19 March 1533, as secular chaplain,...

, Archbishop of York.