GO:0021680

The process whose specific outcome is the progression of the cerebellar Purkinje cell layer over time, from its formation to the mature structure. The Purkinje cell layer lies just underneath the molecular layer of the cerebellar cortex. It contains the neuronal cell bodies of the Purkinje cells that are arranged side by side in a single layer. Candelabrum interneurons are vertically oriented between the Purkinje cells. Purkinje neurons are inhibitory and provide the output of the cerebellar cortex through axons that project into the white matter. Extensive dendritic trees from the Purkinje cells extend upward in a single plane into the molecular layer where they synapse with parallel fibers of granule cells. [GO_REF:0000021, GOC:cls, GOC:dgh, GOC:dph, GOC:jid, GOC:mtg_15jun06, ISBN:0838580343]