diff --git a/src/Makefile.am b/src/Makefile.am
index 2e9a8353..48c56413 100644
--- a/src/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/Makefile.am
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ libmu_la_SOURCES=			\
 	mu-msg-fields.h			\
 	mu-msg-flags.c			\
 	mu-msg-flags.h			\
+	mu-msg-prio.c			\
 	mu-msg-prio.h			\
 	mu-msg-status.h			\
 	mu-msg.c			\
diff --git a/src/mu-msg-prio.c b/src/mu-msg-prio.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7e406607
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mu-msg-prio.c
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+/*
+** Copyright (C) 2010 Dirk-Jan C. Binnema <djcb@djcbsoftware.nl>
+**
+** This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+** under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
+** Free Software Foundation; either version 3, or (at your option) any
+** later version.
+**
+** This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+** but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+** MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+** GNU General Public License for more details.
+**
+** You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+** along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
+** Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
+**
+*/
+
+#include "mu-msg-prio.h"
+
+
+const char* 
+mu_msg_prio_name (MuMsgPrio prio)
+{
+	switch (prio) {
+	case MU_MSG_PRIO_LOW	: return "low";
+	case MU_MSG_PRIO_NORMAL	: return "normal";
+	case MU_MSG_PRIO_HIGH	: return "high";
+	default			: g_return_val_if_reached (NULL);
+	}
+}
+
+MuMsgPrio
+mu_msg_prio_from_char (char k)
+{
+	switch (k) {
+	case 'l': return MU_MSG_PRIO_LOW;
+	case 'n': return MU_MSG_PRIO_NORMAL;
+	case 'h': return MU_MSG_PRIO_HIGH;
+	default: g_return_val_if_reached (MU_MSG_PRIO_NONE);
+	}
+}
+
+char
+mu_msg_prio_to_char (MuMsgPrio prio)
+{
+	switch (prio) {
+	case MU_MSG_PRIO_LOW	: return 'l';
+	case MU_MSG_PRIO_NORMAL	: return 'n';
+	case MU_MSG_PRIO_HIGH	: return 'h';
+	default			: g_return_val_if_reached (0);
+	}
+}
+
+
+void
+mu_msg_prio_foreach (MuMsgPrioForeachFunc func, gpointer user_data)
+{
+	g_return_if_fail (func);
+
+	func (MU_MSG_PRIO_LOW, user_data);
+	func (MU_MSG_PRIO_NORMAL, user_data);
+	func (MU_MSG_PRIO_HIGH, user_data);
+}
diff --git a/src/mu-msg-prio.h b/src/mu-msg-prio.h
index caddc668..187141f8 100644
--- a/src/mu-msg-prio.h
+++ b/src/mu-msg-prio.h
@@ -20,13 +20,66 @@
 #ifndef __MU_MSG_PRIO_H__
 #define __MU_MSG_PRIO_H__
 
-enum _MuMsgPrio {  
-	MU_MSG_PRIO_NONE    = 0,
+#include <glib.h>
 
-	MU_MSG_PRIO_LOW     = 1,
-	MU_MSG_PRIO_NORMAL  = 2,
-	MU_MSG_PRIO_HIGH    = 3
+G_BEGIN_DECLS
+
+enum _MuMsgPrio {
+	MU_MSG_PRIO_LOW,
+	MU_MSG_PRIO_NORMAL,
+	MU_MSG_PRIO_HIGH
 };
 typedef enum _MuMsgPrio MuMsgPrio;
 
+static const MuMsgPrio MU_MSG_PRIO_NONE = (MuMsgPrio)-1;
+
+
+/**
+ * get a printable name for the message priority
+ * (ie., MU_MSG_PRIO_LOW=>"low" etc.)
+ * 
+ * @param prio a message priority
+ * 
+ * @return a printable name for this priority
+ */
+const char* mu_msg_prio_name (MuMsgPrio prio) G_GNUC_CONST;
+
+
+/**
+ * get the MuMsgPriority corresponding to a one-character shortcut
+ * ('l'=>MU_MSG_PRIO_, 'n'=>MU_MSG_PRIO_NORMAL or
+ * 'h'=>MU_MSG_PRIO_HIGH)
+ * 
+ * @param k a character 
+ * 
+ * @return a message priority
+ */
+MuMsgPrio mu_msg_prio_from_char (char k) G_GNUC_CONST;
+
+
+/**
+ * get the one-character shortcut corresponding to a message priority
+ * ('l'=>MU_MSG_PRIO_, 'n'=>MU_MSG_PRIO_NORMAL or
+ * 'h'=>MU_MSG_PRIO_HIGH)
+ * 
+ * @param prio a mesage priority
+ * 
+ * @return a shortcut character or 0 in case of error
+ */
+char mu_msg_prio_to_char (MuMsgPrio prio) G_GNUC_CONST;
+
+
+typedef void (*MuMsgPrioForeachFunc) (MuMsgPrio prio, gpointer user_data);
+/**
+ * call a function for each message priority
+ * 
+ * @param func a callback function
+ * @param user_data a user pointer to pass to the callback
+ */
+void mu_msg_prio_foreach (MuMsgPrioForeachFunc func, gpointer user_data);
+
+
+
+G_END_DECLS
+
 #endif /*__MU_MSG_PRIO_H__*/