<Tr> <Th> Written </Th> <Td> 1853 (1853) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Text </Th> <Td> by Frederick H. Hedge (translator) </Td> </Tr> <P> "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" (German: "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott") is one of the best known hymns by the reformer Martin Luther, a prolific hymnodist . Luther wrote the words and composed the melody sometime between 1527 and 1529 . It has been translated into English at least seventy times and also into many other languages . The words are a paraphrase of Psalm 46 . </P> <P> "A Mighty Fortress" is one of the best loved hymns of the Lutheran tradition and among Protestants more generally . It has been called the "Battle Hymn of the Reformation" for the effect it had in increasing the support for the Reformers' cause . John Julian records four theories of its origin: </P>

Who composed a mighty fortress is our god