Charlemagne, Jean Monnet, Konrad Adenauer, Donald Trump: the pantheon of figures who have helped forge European unity has taken an unexpected turn of late. In less than two months in office the American president has prompted such disbelief and revulsion in Europe as to unexpectedly jolt the place into collective defiance. A dozy continent that has ignored decades of geopolitical wake-up calls has at last located its resolve. Yes, the sudden wobbliness of the transatlantic alliance that has underpinned European security for generations means it is yet again in crisis (there have been so many in the past decade or so, ranging from the euro-zone miasma to Brexit, that it can be hard to keep count). Yet a set of circumstances that might have petrified the continent into stupor seems to have galvanised it into action instead. It is too soon to cheer, for there is much to be done. But a jilted Europe feels like a place suddenly in a hurry.