I’m not buying the secret‑society thesis. The evidence you find is either missing or cherry‑picked, and the pattern of literary change lines up neatly with social, economic and technological forces, not shadowy clubs. If a society were pulling the strings, the fingerprints would be all over the archives, not just in a few vague rumors. So, until you turn a dusty book into a confession, I’d stick with the more mundane explanation.