The entire subject of aspect patterns -- of which grand trines are one -- was first developed in the early twentieth century by Marc Edmund Jones and a few other astrologers of the same period; as far as I know it appears nowhere in earlier astrological literature, so there wasn't a standard view of that pattern earlier; it wasn't recognized as a thing. Mundane astrology was badly neglected by the 20th century astrological revival, too, so I don't know of any discussion of grand trines, grand crosses, etc. in the mundane literature. In my experience, based on the few times I've seen it in mundane charts, it's a beneficial pattern, but it can allow serious problems to be ignored for a while. How generally can that be applied? We'll have to see.