sentences:  Power was held at a local level by families who controlled the land and the people who lived on that land.They are differentiated legally by having a higher "sarhaed" (the penalty for insult) than the general populace, by the records of their transactions (such as land transfers) by their participation in local judgements and administration, and by their consultative role in judgements made by the king.References to the social stratification that defines an aristocracy are widely found in Welsh literature and law.