The Peasants and Serfs were the lowest social class in the Feudalist system. They made up the foundation of the entire system and were very important. Peasants and Serfs often lived on the estates or manors of lords and nobles. They farmed the land and took care of the estate in exchange for protection, land, and justice. The relationship between a lord and the peasants and serfs that lived on his estate was similar to the one between a lord and his vassal. The peasants/serfs worked with the lord to ensure that the estate thrived and flourished. The serfs were peasants who were tied to a manor and couldn’t leave it without their lord’s permission. They weren’t slaves, but they weren’t exactly free. Both peasants and serfs had to farm their lord’s lands several days a week and repair damaged roads, fences, and bridges. They also had pay fees with products such as eggs or honey when they inherited land, used a local mill to grind grain, and every Christmas and Easter. In exchange for all this, the peasants were given their own small portion of land to farm and protection from the warfare. Despite this, peasant life was harsh. Entire families including children worked many hours on the field and they had a simple diet excluding meat. Due to this and the cold winters, hunger was ever present and few peasants lived after the age of 35. A family and their livestock all lived together in a hut. The peasants and serfs basically ran the estate themselves with the lord overlooking them. They produced goods that they used as a type of money and they had everything they needed in their manor. It seems like the lord of manor may have relied more on the peasants and serfs. The occupants of the manor lived together in the village and provided for themselves everything they needed, making manors self-sufficient communities. Peasants and Serfs were the base of the entire feudalist system since they were the ones who farmed and took care of the estates and manors. Life was harsh and challenging, yet they were depended upon the most in the feudalist system.