At least 80% of the nuns in the Polish convents of that time were daughters of thgentry and nobility. The rest, varying from ca 25% about 1650 to perhaps 15% .,bo 6 1750, were almost solely daughters of burghers. Peasants’ daughters were a scared! visible minority of perhaps 0,5%; so at least can be inferred from the existing sources always remembering that the sources are very incomplete and that there are known cases of efforts being made to obliterate a sister’s “low” birth in order to promote equality. Using the author’s files of Polish nuns a list has been established of not more than 58 names of nuns of peasant origin. Most of them were Benedictines (21) Car melites (12) or Norbertines (12). Almost all (only 6 exceptions are know n)’ were admitted as lay sisters. Their number is greatest at the beginning of the period, when rules demanding equality in community had been just re-discovered and were being most zealously kept, while at the same time a long period of peace was permitting to disregard the problem of dowry. It then diminishes visibly after the disasters (wars pestilence and general famine) of mid-17lh century and of early 18lh century; and finally it starts growing again in mid-18lh century, especially in the southern part of the country. This can be taken as a sign of the approaching tide of peasant vocations which started in mid-19th century after the franchise laws for the peasants.