He was born at Rambouillet. He published many works on the history of Dauphiné, e.g. the cartularies of the church and the town of Die (1868), of the abbey of St André le-Bas at Vienne (1869), of the abbey of Notre Dame at Bonnevaux in the diocese of Vienne (1889), of the abbey of St Chaifre at Le Monestier (1884), the inventories and several collections of archives of the dauphins of Viennais, and a Bibliothèque liturgique in six volumes (1893-1897), the third and fourth volumes of which constitute the Repertorium hymnologicum, containing more than 20,000 articles.
His principal work is the Repertoire des sources historiques du moyen âge. The first part, Bio-bibliographie (1875-1886), contains the names of all the historical personages alive between the years 1 and 1500 who are mentioned in printed books, together with precise references. The second part, Topo-bibliographie (1894-1903), contains not only the names of places mentioned "in books" on the history of the middle ages, but, in a general way, everything not included in the Bio-bibliographie.
The Repertoire as a whole is a mass of useful information, and is one of the most important bibliographical monuments ever devoted to the study of medieval history. Though a Catholic priest and professor of history at the Catholic university of Lyons, the Abbé (afterwards Canon) Chevalier maintained an independent critical attitude even on religious questions. In the controversy on the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin (sudario), he worked in the scientific spirit by tracing back the history of the cloth, which was undoubtedly used as a shroud, but he argued was not produced before the 14th century and was probably no older (See Le Saint Suaire de Lirey-Chambery Turin et les defenseurs de son authenticité). Similarly, in Nôtre Dame de Lorette. In l'Étude critique sur l’authenticité de la Santa Casa (1906), he dissipated by the aid of authentic documents the legend which had embellished and falsified the early history of that sanctuary.
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