An awdl is a long Welsh poem written in cynghanedd, the traditional Welsh system of intricate sound patterning. It may use one or several strict stanza forms, but it is defined less by rhyme alone than by its demanding patterns of consonance, internal rhyme, and meter. Historically, the awdl was one of the highest and most difficult forms in Welsh poetry.
Welsh poetic form equivalent to an ode. There are 12 separate awdl forms including: cyhydedd hir, cyhydedd naw ban, gwawdodyn, clogyrnach, rhupunt, tawddgyrch cadwynog, cyrch a chwta, toddaid and byr a thoddaid. The awdl was regarded as the most challenging and exalted Welsh form.
Example
Stone on the shore, song in the wind,
heart of the hill, held and unspun;
lantern of language, lifting the dark,
threading the night until dawn is begun.