Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray.

Adam of the Road is a quest tale in which Adam Quartermayne loses everything, only to regain it after successfully conquering the road and thereby reaching maturity. As the story opens, Adam is awaiting the return of his father, Roger Quartermayne, a successful minstrel. Adam has been in an abbey school for five months while Roger has been attending minstrels’ school. He is impatient for Roger’s arrival so that they can return to the road and the life of minstrelsy that Adam loves, but he is comforted by Perkin, his best friend, and Nick, his dog.