Editing Periodization (section)

==History==
The practice of dividing history into ages or periods is as early as the development of writing, and can be traced to the [[Sumer|Sumerian 
 period]]. The ''[[Sumerian King List]]'', dating to the [[second millennium BC]]&mdash;and for most parts it is not considered historically accurate&mdash;is "periodized" into dynastic [[regnal era]]s. The classical division into a [[Golden Age]], [[Silver Age]], [[Bronze Age]], [[Greek Heroic Age|Heroic Age]], and [[Iron Age]] goes back to [[Hesiod]] in the 8th – 7th century BC.

One Biblical periodization scheme commonly used in the Middle Ages was [[Paul of Tarsus|Saint Paul]]'s theological division of history into three ages: the first before the age of [[Moses]] (under nature); the second under Mosaic law (under law); the third in the age of Christ (under grace). But perhaps the most widely discussed periodization scheme of the Middle Ages was the [[Six Ages of the World]], written by the early 5th century AD,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Alexander |first=David C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ZWCL9Vw0LsC |title=Augustine's Early Theology of the Church: Emergence and Implications, 386–391 |publisher=Peter Lang |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-4331-0103-8 |pages=219 |language=en}}</ref> where every age was a thousand years counting from [[Adam and Eve|Adam]] to the present, with the present time (in the Middle Ages) being the sixth and final age.