In mediaeval times, from the 6th century in the Byzantium of Justinian down to the 14th century, most painting, whether on walls or panels, was executed in tempera, though in many cases it appears to have been the custom to put in the coloured ground in true fresco, and, when that was dry, paint on it the complete picture with a tempera medium. This was the method used in the Byzantine wall-paintings in the churches of Thessalonica, Mount Athos, and elsewhere. A similar practice existed in England and other northern countries, as in the very complete series of paintings on the walls and vault of the chancel of Kempley church, Gloucestershire, dating from about 1100. Most commonly, however, in England as in France and Germany the whole painting was done in tempera, the finished surface of the plaster being first covered with a wash of old slaked lime or whitening. As a rule every inch of stone, whether carved, moulded, or plain, in the cathedrals and other churches of mediaeval France, England, and other countries was covered with this thin coating of white, and then elaborately decorated with tempera painting. In those rare cases where want of money prevented the application of colour the stone-work of the interior received the coat of white, so that at any future time the colouring might be added, and also because the feeling of the Middle Ages evidently was that bare stone inside a building had an unfinished and uncomfortable look, and was quite as unsuitable in a richly decorated and furnished cathedral as it would now be considered in a lady’s drawing-room. The additional splendour gained by the use of minute patterns stamped in gesso, thinly laid over the surface of the stone, is described in Mural Decoration, vol. xvii. p. 47; see also fig. 17.

Tempera in Italy.— For panel and canvas paintings tempera continued in use till nearly the end of the 15th century, when the Flemish method of oil painting gradually took its place. In many cases with panel pictures of the latter part of the 15th century it is now difficult, if not impossible, to be sure whether they were painted in tempera or in oil, either because both methods were combined—the picture being begun in tempera and finished with oil glazings—or because an oil varnish has been laid over the tempera pictures, and so the pigments have absorbed oil out of the varnish and have thus practically become associated with an oil medium. In some cases slight peculiarities of brush-work bear witness to one medium or the other; but these appearances are often deceptive, and any real certainty on the point is unattainable. The round panel of the Madonna and St Joseph by Michelangelo may be mentioned as an example of these doubtful cases.

In the main the earlier tempera easel pictures were painted on wood, —pear, poplar, or walnut being commonly used; but a few painters preferred in some cases to use canvas. The National Gallery of London possesses a very beautiful example of this,—the Entombment, attributed to Van der Weyden (see Schools of Painting, vol. xxi. p. 438, fig. 29), which is most delicately and yet powerfully painted on linen without any priming. Usually both panels and canvas were prepared for tempera by being covered with a fine priming or coating of gesso (plaster). Some later painters used marble dust; others unfortunately used white lead, which has since blackened through the absorption of gases from the air.

In the case of wall paintings, both tempera and fresco were used together,—the proportion of fresco work being gradually increased. In the 13th and most of the 14th century little more than the groundwork of the picture was painted in fresco, though this varied according to the custom of each painter. In the 15th century increased technical skill and rapidity of execution allowed much more complete work to be done in fresco, till at last nothing but a few finishing touches were done in tempera. For this, exceptional certainty of touch and speed of execution were required, and some weaker painters never attained to a very complete mastery over the fresco process. The brilliant series of wall paintings by Pinturicchio in the cathedral library at Siena contain a very large proportion of tempera work, in spite of which they are still in a wonderful state of preservation. Raphael’s rapid advance in the mastery of fresco-work is clearly shown in his paintings in the Vatican stanze, each one of which is carried to a further stage in true fresco than the preceding. Thus the earliest painting of the series (the Disputa) is very largely executed in tempera, while some of the later ones are nearly completed in fresco, and show the most perfect skill in that difficult process. Michelangelo was specially remarkable for his great power in fresco, and carried his Sistine paintings to a very advanced stage before touching them with tempera. Sad to say, what tempera finishing touches he did apply have mostly been scraped off during the many cleanings and repairs that these works have undergone; and the same misfortune has happened to a large number of other important pictures. Tempera was specially used for paintings on canvas which were intended to be hung like tapestry, as, for example, the fine 15th-century series at Rheims and Mantegna’s Triumph of Julius Caesar at Hampton Court. It was also much used for large cartoons, such as Raphael’s tapestry designs, now in the South Kensington Museum. After the first half of the 16th century the increasing use of oil painting, assisted by the artistic decadence of the age, caused the gradual disuse of both fresco and tempera.

A third process, often used during the earlier Middle Ages, was a sort of compromise between tempera and fresco. A finished stucco surface was prepared as for ordinary tempera, but before each day’s painting the plaster was soaked with water, so that the pigments, laid on to the wet plaster, to some extent sank below the surface, though without penetrating as deeply as they would on newly mixed stucco. (j. H. Μ.)

In 1868 the Good Templar order was introduced into England from the United States, where it had come into existence several years earlier. In England it made rapid progress, until it was seriously checked by a dispute arising out of the Negro question; but the two sections have again reunited (1887). Good Templary is the freemasonry of temperance, with ritual, passwords, grips, Ac., closely modelled on those of the old secret societies. It has had a remarkable extension in Great Britain, the United States, the British colonies, and in Scandinavia, its aggregate membership now reaching over 623,000. One of its results has been the foundation of a temperance orphanage at Sunbury-on-Thames. Side by side with the general movement there has been a special movement against the use of alcohol as medicine, and the tendency of medical teaching now favours at least restriction of its use as a therapeutic agent. The London Temperance Hospital for the non-alcoholic treatment of disease was opened in October 1873. The importance of training the young was early recognized by the leaders of temperance reformation, and the labours of Dr R. B. Grindrod of Manchester and Mrs Carlile of Dublin led to the formation of bands of hope, which are now found in connexion with many places of worship. The juvenile temples of the Good Templar order also work in the same direction. The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, founded in the United States in 1874, is one of the latest forms of temperance activity. A branch was organized in Great Britain in 1876; and in 1883 the World’s Women’s Temperance Union came into existence.

The temperance movement has now branched out into a multitude of organizations in the United Kingdom, of which the Railway Temperance Union, the post-office temperance societies, and associations connected with the army and navy are types. The organizations of a more general character are the United Kingdom Alliance, which is very active in the dissemination of teetotal doctrines generally, the National Temperance League, the Scottish Temperance League, the British Temperance League, the Scottish Permissive Bill Association, the Irish Temperance League, and the Irish Association for the Prevention of Intemperance. There are also large district and county societies. Next to these come the secret orders, of which the Rechabites, Sons of Temperance, Sons of the Phoenix are large benefit societies. The Independent Order of Good Templars is non-beneficiary, and seeks in its “lodges” to provide social attractions, and at the same time to train the members in temperance work; it is probably the largest voluntary association in the world. There are societies in connexion with the various religious bodies, of which the Church of England Temperance Society, the Catholic League of the Cross, the Baptist Total Abstinence Society, are prominent instances.

The oldest organization in America is the Sons of Temperance (1842), now numbering about 80,000 members. The Independent Order of Good Templars (1851) is the largest, its membership approaching 100,000. Both these, as also the Royal Templars of Temperance (1877) and the Templars of Honour and Temperance (1845), are mutual benefit societies. The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, the National Temperance Society and Publication House (New York), and the National Prohibition Party are active in educational work. The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union is the outgrowth of “the Women’s Crusade” (1872), a remarkable uprising among the women of Ohio and Pennsylvania against the liquor traffic. The organization was effected in 1874, and has since spread throughout the United States, its membership now (1887) numbering 207,000. Its influence has been widely felt in legislatures and in elections in which prohibitory laws have been voted upon. With the exception of the Church Temperance Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church, which has the “double basis,” all the temperance societies of the United States are based on the doctrine of total abstinence; and, with the additional exception of the Father Mathew Total Abstinence Societies of the Roman Catholic Church, they all advocate the principle of prohibition. Amendments embodying this idea have been inserted in the State constitutions (by popular vote) of Maine, Kansas, and Rhode Island. In Vermont and Iowa the legislature has enacted statutory prohibition, which is still in force. In other States local prohibition prevails to a large extent, chiefly in Georgia, Mississippi, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas.

Bibliography.—The literature of the subject is very extensive and may most conveniently be classed under the following heads. (1) History: P. T. winskill, History of the Temperance Reformation; One Hundred Years of Temperance (New York, 1886); Dorchester, Liquor Problem in all Ages (New York); Willard, Woman and Temperance (Hartford); Shaw, Great Temperance Reforms (Toronto). (2) Theology : Dawson Burns and F. R. Lees, Temperance Bible Commentary·, J. Smith, The Church and the Temperance Reformation·, Samson, Divine Law as to Wines (Philadelphia). (3) General : A. Gustafson, 'The Foundation of Death; R. B. Grindrod, Our Nation's Pice; D. Burns, Bases of the Temperance Reformation; Grindrod, Bacchus; B. Parsons, Anti-Bacchus; Powell, Bacchus Dethroned ; Baker, The Curse of Britain ; J. Dunlop, Philosophy of Drinking Usages (1839); The Political Prohibitionist (New York, 1887); Pitman, Alcohol and the State (New York). (4) Political Economy: F. R. Lees, Argument for the Prohibition of the Liquor Traffic; W. Hoyle, Our National Resources; Hargreaves, Our Wasted Resources (New York). (5) Science: J. Livesey, The Malt Liquor Lecture; P. Burne, Teetotaller’s Companion; W. B. Carpenter, Physiology of Temperance and Total Abstinence ; A. A. Reade, Study and Stimulants; Miller, Alcohol, its Place and Potver; Id., Nephalism; B. W. Richardson, Cantor Lectures on Alcohol ; Hargreaves, Alcohol and Science (New York). (6) Fiction : novels and tales embodying teetotal principles have been written by Mrs Henry Wood, Mrs H. B. Stowe, Mrs. C. L. Balfour, Mr John Habberton, Mr Edward Jenkins, Mrs S. C. Hall, Mrs Ellis, and many others. (7) Periodicals : the temperance periodicals issued in Great Britain now number about fifty.