Song of the Gargoyle

Blurb

The Song of the Gargoyle is a 1991 book for young readers by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. Set in the middle ages, it tells the story of a young boy named Tymmon who lives with his father Komus, the court jester of Austerneve. When Komus is abducted by an anonymous man with a Black Helmet, thirteen-year-old Tymmon is able to escape Black Helmet and leaves the castle grounds to seek refuge in the Sombrous Forest, a forbidden place occupied by wolves and magical beings. Most wonderfully, Tymmon is adopted by a gargoyle named Troff -- a creature with the loyalty of a dog and the fearsome powers of an enchanted being.
After a season surviving in the forest, Tymmon longs to rescue his father and to find a way to avenge him, as a knight would. But Tymmon is a commoner, and he burns with anger at his father, who threw away a noble heritage to become a lowly jester. Tymmon had to watch his childhood playmate turn away from him to become a squire and train for the knighthood Tymmon can never know.
When Tymmon realizes that Troff can pose as a dog, he and Troff leave the forest together. As they travel, Tymmon sees the poverty and suffering of peasants ravaged by feudalistic greed.