Erat

Erat, also called Heriot, is according to tradition a holy man of the 5th century who brought Christianity to Inverkeithing in Fife, Scotland. Tradition counts him a follower of Saint Ninian, a missionary among the Picts. In the forms Erhad, Erthad or Yrchard the name seems linked to a native of Kincardine O'Neil, converted by Saint Ternan, who lived between 450 and 500. He is said to have founded the first church of Inverkeithing, around 500, on the site of the present parish church.

A chapel in the grounds of Fordell Castle has been dedicated to him since at least 1511, and an old well in Heriot Street bore his name. The first written references to him come only in 1588. The link with Ninian seems to have formed towards the end of the 19th century. Venerated locally, with no synodal canonization.