Awdl

In Welsh poetry, an awdl (pronounced [ˈau̯dl̩]) is a long poem in strict metre (i.e. cynghanedd). Originally, an awdl could be a relatively short poem unified by its use of a single end-rhyme (the word is related to odl, "rhyme"), using cynghanedd; such early awdlau are associated with the Cynfeirdd such as Aneirin and Taliesin as found in collections such as the Book of Taliesin, the Black Book of Carmarthen, the Hendregadredd Manuscript or The Red Book of Hergest. By the nineteenth century however it came to its modern definition as a long poem using at least two of the twenty-four recognised "official" strict forms (without the single end-rhyme).

Each year at the National Eisteddfod the bardic chair is awarded for the awdl judged worthiest; this competition is the most famous and prestigious in the Eisteddfod, and perceived to be the most difficult.