Chesse, Robert

Chesse, Robert, a French preacher, of the time of the League declared himself the enemy of Henry IV, after the death of Henry III. His order sent him as protector of the Franciscan monks to Vendome, during the siege of that city. On its capture by assault, in November, 1589, Chesse was taken prisoner, in the choir of St. Martin, and hanged instantly, without resistance, by the soldiers of the duke of Biron. The Franciscans regard him as a saint and martyr. In 1789 a representation of his head still adorned the gallery of the organ in the church where he was murdered. See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v.