CRAIL, formerly Carrail, a royal and parliamentary burgh and seaport of Scotland, in the county of Fife, nine miles south-east of St Andrews. It is said to have been a town of some note as early as the 9th century; and its castle, of which there are hardly any remains, was the residence of David I. and others of the early Scottish kings. It was constituted a royal burgh by a charter of Robert Bruce in 1306, and had its privileges confirmed by Robert II. in 1371, by Mary in 1553, and by Charles I. in 1635. Of its priory, dedicated to St Rufus, a few ruins are to be seen below the east end of the town; its principal church is of great antiquity, and was raised to the collegiate rank in 1517; and many of the ordinary houses are of a massive and antique description. It unites with St Andrews and other burghs in returning a member to Parliament. Population of borough, 1112.